


i like it when his heart is on his sleeve

by fauxghost



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aphrodite Keith, Camp Half-Blood AU, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Klance Month 2018, Lance is whipped, M/M, Poseidon Lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-25
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-07-17 07:21:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16090772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fauxghost/pseuds/fauxghost
Summary: Keith is claimed by Aphrodite at Camp Half-Blood and receives her blessing, which enhances his appearance and makes a certain son of Poseidon extremely flustered.





	i like it when his heart is on his sleeve

**Author's Note:**

> title from the song boys / girls by torrey mercer

Everyone was sitting around the campfire when it happened.

Keith was in the corner next to Shiro, as far away from everyone else as possible, looking for all the world like Camp Half-Blood was the last place he wanted to be. Out of nowhere, he was enveloped in a thick red haze. The other campers stood up, a look of awe and excitement coming over them as they backed away from the blush-colored fog. Having arrived to camp only a month ago, Lance seemed to be the only one who had no idea what was going on.

When the misty haze faded, the only thing recognizable about Keith was his scowl. He looked like he had just stepped out of Ancient Greece, wearing a long white tunic and golden armbands that sparkled with the light from the campfire. His hair was smoothed out, looking silkier than ever, and kept in place by an intricate wreath made of pure gold leaves. His body was toned to perfection, from the curve of his hips to his muscled arms.

Of everything that changed, his face was what Lance was drawn to. At first glance, it was hard to place what was different, but as he looked closer, he saw that Keith’s eyelashes had become darker, his lips fuller, and his skin basically glowed. His cheekbones were more chiseled, and there was a faint blush on his cheeks -- whether it was from embarrassment or just part of the blessing, something about it made him look heavenly, a departure from his usual harsh demeanor.

He was like a painting rather than a person, a masterpiece created by careful brushstrokes and color palettes mixed by the Gods themselves.

Shiro stood up, breaking the silence. “I present to you all, Keith Kogane, son of Aphrodite.”

As everyone cheered, the flames from the fire lifted up and turned a golden yellow hue, reaching higher than Lance had ever seen before. He looked back to Keith, just in time to see him throw his laurel wreath to the ground and storm off. Compelled to pick up the wreath and go after him, Lance started towards it, but it slowly faded from the ground, only to reappear on Keith’s head moments later.

The last thing everyone heard from Keith was a frustrated groan and a “What the fuck?” when the wreath came back to him.

***

Aphrodite’s blessing stuck with Keith throughout the next day. He seemed to be avoiding everyone, aside from grudgingly sleeping in the Aphrodite cabin the night before. The newly claimed half-blood was the talk of camp, and Lance couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed at all of the campers who were gushing about how gorgeous he looked, considering the fact that Lance had noticed how gorgeous Keith was a month ago (and he didn’t need some sort of magic spell to make him see it).

Keith had been absent from all of the camp activities that day, but Lance finally managed to spot him sitting on the edge of the pier at the lake. Bracing himself to be dismissed, Lance called out, “Hey.”

The other boy jumped, and then relaxed once he realized who it was. “Oh. Hey, Lance.”

It wasn’t like they were close friends, per se, but because they arrived at camp at the same time, the two of them had ended up sticking together through most of the activities. Being the only unclaimed seventeen year olds, it felt like there was a mutual understanding between them, a shared pain. After Lance got claimed by Poseidon, they had unintentionally distanced themselves from each other -- Keith, because he didn’t seem to fit in anywhere, and Lance, because of the sudden outpouring of attention he received from being a child of the Big Three. Walking further down the pier, Lance asked, “Mind if I join you?”

He shrugged. “I guess not.”

Lance was incredibly unprepared to see Keith’s enhanced appearance in the daylight. His eyes sparkled, the golden wreath in his hair made his skin look warm and glowy, and he had this sweet scent radiating off of him, a mixture of roses and cinnamon. Lance almost fell into the lake as he sat down, and a water nymph who had snuck up to the surface snickered at him before slipping back into the depths.

The son of Aphrodite was looking at him with a curious expression. “Everything okay?”

“What?” Lance was temporarily stunned by the way Keith’s thick eyelashes framed his dark eyes, until he managed to choke out, “I’m-- yeah! I mean, ahem. Yes. I’m good.”

Keith chuckled, and his laugh seemed to reverberate across the lake, dancing on the water and echoing in Lance’s mind. “Gods, even you’re speechless. I can’t wait for this curse to fade.”

“I’m not--!” He sputtered. “I’m not speechless, okay? What am I doing right now? I’m speaking. That’s what I’m doing. I am perfectly capable of speech.”

“You’re rambling now.”

“You’re impossible to please.”

“You’re impossible, period.”

“Well, you’re…” Lance faltered, and then let out a sigh. “I’m not doing a very good job of cheering you up, am I?”

“I didn’t even realize you were trying, so, no, not really.” He said it playfully, but Lance still felt disappointed in himself.

“Sorry. That’s why I was looking for you.” Fiddling with the hem of his camp shirt, forcing himself to look anywhere but into Keith’s hypnotizing eyes, Lance said, “I guess I just don’t know how to help. Why are you so ashamed of this, anyway?”

“I don’t know, I’m just…” Keith’s voice became quieter. “I’m not used to all this attention. A month ago I didn’t even know the Gods existed. It’s a lot to take in.”

“I know what you’re going through. This is all new to me too.”

“You’re the son of Poseidon, Lance. Everyone’s practically in awe of you.” He replied, glancing at Lance with an unreadable expression. If Lance didn’t know any better, he would’ve called it longing. “I don’t fit in here, especially not now. The other kids in the Aphrodite cabin don’t know what to do with me -- it’s not like I know anything about make up, or dating, or whatever the hell ‘deep conditioner’ is. I don’t know why Aphrodite even bothered to claim me.”

“But that’s not what being an Aphrodite kid is about!” Lance insisted. “There’s a lot more to it than superficial things.”

“Since when are you an expert?” Keith’s hair looked so soft that Lance got the overwhelming urge to tuck a piece behind his ear, or a run his fingers through it.

Shaking himself out of that thought, Lance continued, “Haven’t you heard? I’m an expert at everything. So, just hear me out, okay? Being an Aphrodite kid… it means that you have love to give, yeah? So much of it, even if you don’t realize it. And that you love beautiful things, too.”

“You’re right about that part, at least.” Keith said, meeting eyes with him.

Lance felt his cheeks reddening, but he cleared his throat and kept going, “It means that… that you’re capable of giving love, and receiving it, and well, it means that you’re beautiful, too, Keith.”

The other boy looked away, shaking his head. “I hate the blessing. It’s not me.”

“No, that’s not what I meant! This--” Lance gestured to Keith’s perfect face, his flowing Greek tunic, “--is beautiful, but intimidating. And yeah, definitely not you. I prefer regular Keith, really.”

Keith raised his eyebrows. “Regular Keith?”

“Yeah, regular Keith.” Lance said, willing himself to continue despite how fast his heart was pounding. “I mean, he’s just as pretty as this Keith, but it’s kind of in a quiet way, like it’s not something meant for the whole world to see. Beautiful doesn’t have to be glowing skin and perfect hair, sometimes it’s just a ratty mullet and broody eyebrows and stupidly distracting eyes and--”

He was cut off by Keith putting a hand on his cheek with feather light touch. “You really mean that?”

Lance gave a slight nod, unable to find the words when Keith was looking at him like that, like he wasn’t the son of Poseidon or the boy from the prophecies, but he was just Lance, and that was enough.

“Can I kiss you?”

“Yes.” Lance whispered. As he leaned in, Keith was surrounded by the same red haze from the night before. His appearance shifted back to normal, until he was wearing ripped jeans and a worn out camp shirt. Gone was the silky hair and shining skin, replaced by his familiar, rough-around-the-edges look. Instead of the overwhelming rosy scent, he smelled like Keith, like campfires and autumn and familiarity.

Leaning over the lake, Keith took in his reflection with a sigh of relief. He turned back to Lance, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. “You still wanna kiss me?”

In the form of an answer, Lance pulled Keith in by the collar of his shirt, savoring the eager look in Keith’s eyes before finally kissing him. The first kiss was gentle and quick, and Keith smiled into the next one, wrapping his arms around Lance’s waist. The cool breeze danced around them as they held each other, kissing at the edge of the pier on the lake.

***

  
They only stopped when they realized an audience had formed. A few nymphs had resurfaced and started giggling at them. Keith pulled back and frowned in their direction. “Can you use your Poseidon powers to splash them?”

“They’re water nymphs, Keith. I don’t think they’ll care.”

“Then let’s find somewhere more private.” He grinned, taking Lance by the hand. They walked off the pier and towards the woods.

“Uh, the forest has nymphs and monsters.”

Keith let out a melodramatic sigh. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”

“Fine, I’ll race you there!” Lance challenged. He refused to let go of Keith’s hand, which was slightly counterproductive, but neither of them minded.

***

Luckily, their time in the forest involved far less monsters and far more kissing than Lance had expected.

 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks so much for reading! kudos and comments are very appreciated!
> 
> idea credit: @xanderuwu on twitter! https://twitter.com/xanderuwu/status/1043917193682046976  
> my twitter: @waywardbaz


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